Studley Flower Gardens named NH Family Business of the Year

ROCHESTER — The NH District Office of the Small Business Administration has named Studley Flower Gardens the Family Owned Business of the Year.

On May 28, owners David, Jeffrey and Molly Meulenbroek will be honored at a ceremony to be held at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester.

They purchased the business on Wakefield Street in 2008 from David and Jeffrey’s now retired parents, Pieter and Betty Jane Meulenbroek, who had owned the enterprise since 1971.

Studley Flower Gardens was established at its current site in 1928 by Joshua Studley, and after his death, his wife, Norma Currier (she remarried) continued on with the cut flowers and greenhouses until the sale to the Meulenbroeks.

Pieter Meulenbroek is a native of Holland, who studied horticulture, and came to the United States on a work visa to work in Lexington Gardens in Massachusetts where he met his future wife. They moved to Holland for a couple of years, and on their return to the U.S., looked for a greenhouse to buy on the East Coast. Studley Flower Gardens was the answer.

They transitioned the business, to some extent, away from cut flowers to house plants, due to an oil crisis and because flowers grown overseas were beginning to enter the market. The landscaping aspect of the business was established in the 1980s

David and Jeffrey, all through high school and then the University of New Hampshire, worked in the greenhouses during the summer, and absorbed their parents’ strong work ethic. Neither of them chose horticulture as their field of study, though.

Jeffrey studied history and David philosophy and international relations, and they both enjoyed foreign travel.

It was in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, that Jeffrey and Molly met — she was a student from the Midwest who also liked traveling. She came back with him to Rochester, and they married in 2002. She first worked in sales at the garden center, and now is in marketing and administration.

The family-owned business employs 12 to 24 people, depending on the season. Some of the greenhouses are in operation year-round, with poinsettias for the Christmas season, and for annuals, perennials and hanging baskets.

“We are back to growing some cut flowers,” said David Meulenbroek, mentioning freesias as a favorite with the public. They have a flower, shrub and plant delivery service that has a 20-mile radius.

Classes dealing with floral topics are still offered, and talks are given on topics such as rain gardens.

Studley Flower Gardens is renowned for its community mindedness, maintaining a spectacular Adopt-a-Spot each year and the planters in front of City Hall and the Opera House.

Jeffrey is currently the vice president of NH Plant Growers Association, David is president of the board of Rochester Main Street, and Molly chairs the Rochester Historic District Commission.

They were nominated for the prestigious SBA award by Warren Daniels of the Small Business Development Center, whose office is in Dover.

“It was a surprise,” said Jeffrey Meulenbroek.

At the ceremony on May 28, Gov. Maggie Hassan is expected to be present and the NH Delegation has been invited.

Rochester Chamber of Commerce President Laura Ring said, “Congratulations to the Meulenbroek family. They give a great service to the community and the region. They have been long-time active members of the Chamber.”

Executive Director of Rochester Main Street Mike Provost said, “I think this is very well deserved and exciting. This is the type of business I would point to as successful. They are an asset and give back to the community.”

For more information on Studley Flower Gardens and the services it offers, visit www.studleyflowergardens.com.

(Editor’s note: The SBA Financial Services Champion is Jonathan D. Shapleigh, VP of Commercial Services, Bank of New Hampshire in Rochester, who will be featured later this month.)